Elevated bookshop café/bar with rooftop views.
Offering some of the best views in London and the chance to catch up on a good book, this slick bar located on the 5th floor of Waterstone’s (the biggest book shop in Europe) is worth putting your reading glasses on for. Views from the café - stretching south over the rooftops all the way to Westminster and Big Ben - are best enjoyed at dusk when the light starts to fade and the neon lights flicker into action. Essentially a bar attached to a bookshop, reading at tables is positively encouraged. Select a book from the regularly refreshed Authors’ Table, or pick up a tome from the store’s many groaning shelves. Settle down at a table with a cup of coffee or a loose leaf tea, take in the view and then get reading. There’s free wi-fi access too. While 5th View, admittedly, doesn’t serve the best coffee or tea in town, the views, fresh airy atmosphere and burgeoning in-house library combine to make this a great choice for refreshment in the middle of town.
Best for:
Refreshments and reading, rooftop views, book clubs and wi-fi.
Did you know?
This building was Britain's first shop to feature an uninterrupted curved-glass frontage.

Elevated bookshop café/bar with rooftop views.
Offering some of the best views in London and the chance to catch up on a good book, this slick bar located on the 5th floor of Waterstone’s (the biggest book shop in Europe) is w..
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Recipient of an AA Rosette Award 2013-2014, the Terrace Bar & Grill at the Le Meridien hotel serves locally-sourced meat and fish dishes. Overlooking Piccadilly, it is split into two spaces: a contemporary British restaurant and an upper-level gin bar, perfect for pre-dinner drinks. Main options include a range of steaks, a pulled pork burger, mixed grill of fish and a fish casserole, as well as their signature dish: native butter roasted lobster. The grill also serves a Signature Breakfast, offering the distinct flavours of Great Britain with dishes such as Norfolk Duck Egg Benedict and Omelette Arnold Bennett. Afternoon Tea is also served daily, with the option of a Gin & Tonic Afternoon Tea.

Recipient of an AA Rosette Award 2013-2014, the Terrace Bar & Grill at the Le Meridien hotel serves locally-sourced meat and fish dishes. Overlooking Piccadilly, it is split into two spaces: a contemporary British restaurant and ..
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This well known restaurant has been famed for its entrecote steak and herb butter sauce since it opened in 1977. There's a feeling of longevity about Rowley's and its Jermyn Street building has an established and interesting history too - this is the location where the Walls butcher shop first opened (now arguably the best known brand of mass produced sausages in Britain). On the occasion we visited we didn't see any sausages - Walls or otherwise - on the menu but the signature garlic seasoned steak dish was expertly done, available in a 6oz or 10oz portion with as many french fries as you can handle.

This well known restaurant has been famed for its entrecote steak and herb butter sauce since it opened in 1977. There's a feelin..
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Top London steakhouse Hawksmoor open their fourth branch on Air Street, just off Regent Street, in their biggest location yet with 235 seats in the restaurant and a further 50 in the bar. Housed in a beautiful Art Deco room, the former British Airways headquarters in Piccadilly, interior updates include 10 specially commissioned stained and etched glass on the floor-to-ceiling arched windows that flood the room with light. New additions to the menu now also sees the dishes equally weighted between full-flavoured 35 day-aged steaks and fresh seafood caught off the British coast. Located nearby to the West End theatres, this branch also offers an Express Menu Monday to Saturday at lunchtime, early evening and late evening. Hawksmoor Air Street can accommodate groups of up to eight people; larger groups are advised to book at Hawksmoor Guildhall. The Air Street restaurant can be hired exclusively for 235 people with a further 50 in the bar. For further information on private hire and events, contact Hawksmoor on 020 7481 6362 or events@thehawksmoor.com

Top London steakhouse Hawksmoor open their fourth branch on Air Street, just off Regent Street, in their biggest location yet with 235 seats in the restaurant and a further 50 in the bar. Housed in a beautiful Art Deco room, the ..
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Set over two floors, Bentley's restaurant is an absolute gem, well known for its fish selection and with celebrity chef and Irishman Richard Corrigan at the helm. The chef and owner of Corrigan's Mayfair has brought his passion for fresh, quality produce to Bentley's and created a fun and authentic place to dine. If you have a partiality for the odd oyster this is the best place in town. Enthusiastic diners can have the full works - the ritual with chopped onion and Tabasco, the gentle squelchy slip down the throat and the saltwater aftertaste followed by the obligatory gulp of Guinness that restores your mouth to normality once more. The Oyster Bar downstairs is alive with a vibrant buzz and general joviality. Incidentally, the infectious noise and merriment is pretty much restricted to the Oyster Bar but we think thats the idea. The marble, wood-panelled room is full of rowdy, oyster appreciating folk its a lot of fun. Serene, sophisticated and elegant, the interior is made up of blue and whites, warm wood and Bentley's fish prints. The waiters are in tails and the seating space generous. Up at the Grill there is a good balance between fish and meat dishes. No doubt, folk will also welcome the element of foreign influence visible in parts of the menu. The Singapore crab and mussel soup is a big hit. Many of the dishes flaunt their provenance. If you're resolutely keen to eat only Irish produce, the menu lets you know exactly where your smoked salmon originated from, which is always handy. The whole place has been restored by Corrigan and the menu is his brainchild. However, don't expect to catch a glimpse of him gutting fish in the kitchen. He doesn't work here. A deservedly popular venue.

Set over two floors, Bentley's restaurant is an absolute gem, well known for its fish selection and with celebrity chef and Irish..
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Gaucho Grills have now sprung up all over the city, but the original in Soho is by far the best, and boasts the finest Argentine steak (Bife de Lomo) in London. The Argentines not being renowned for their meat-free dishes, this place is not for vegetarians, but carnivores can delight in a huge range of superb grilled meats, seared fish and also unusual specialties like steak tartare. Meat dishes have to be backed up with side ordered vegetables which are uniformly good. The wine list is huge, and the service in the Soho Gaucho is legendary, from the friendly barman with a very good memory for faces to the efficient, knowledgeable and smiling waiters. This is a first-class steak house.

Gaucho Grills have now sprung up all over the city, but the original in Soho is by far the best, and boasts the finest Argentine steak (Bife de Lomo) in London. The Argentines not being renowned for their meat-free dishes, this p..
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The fantastic FishWorks group have brought their award-winning mix of fresh produce and friendly service to London. Take home a live lobster, dine in the relaxed setting of the restaurant or enjoy a cookery class with food writer and founder, Mitchell Tonks. Try the dining option and you can savour the taste of the sea with their fabulous seafood platter, featuring everything from winkles to fresh Fleur de Lys oysters. Choose from a selection of innovative yet simple dishes, including the delectable roast monkfish with a potent anchovy and rosemary butter, and the cod fillet with a miraculously light parsley sauce and beautifully fluffy mash.

The fantastic Fishworks group have brought their award-winning mix of fresh produce and friendly service to London. Take home a live lobster, dine in the relaxed setting of the restaurant or enjoy a cookery class with food writer..
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The revival of the Ten Room within the historic Hotel Cafe Royal relaunched in 2012 following a major refurbishment, has given one of London's most renowned dining rooms a modern makeover. The heritage of this iconic landmark dates back to 1865 but now the Ten Room has been both sensitively restored to feature original details, and modernised to appeal to twenty-first century sensibilities. Overseen by executive chef, Andrew Turner, the menu in the Ten Room combines traditional British dishes with contemporary flavours and styles. Menu highlights include Cornish skate and Challans duck breast. Welcoming both visitors and hotel guests, the Ten Room is open for all-day dining. Breakfast, lunch, cream tea and dinner are served, as well as an additional menu that features an edited selection of favourites available throughout the day and into late evening. The hotel also has the intimate and dimly lit Green Bar and the ornate Oscar Wilde Bar formerly the iconic Grill Room where The Black Cat Cabaret presents cabaret every Friday and Saturday night and where a traditional afternoon tea is served daily.

The revival of the Ten Room within the historic Hotel Cafe Royal relaunched in 2012 following a major refurbishment, has given on..
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A striking presence on Regent Street, The Cafe at Hotel Cafe Royal is a beautiful, calming space to enjoy tea and pastries. With its interiors created from golden Sienna marble, The Cafe is a cut above your average cake shop. It's a swish place to enjoy a light menu of seasonal dishes presented alongside an espresso bar and counters lined with cakes, pastries and chocolates, created fresh everyday by Hotel Cafe Royal hotel's executive pastry chef, Andrew Blas. Hot drinks, cakes and selected dishes are also available to takeaway.

A striking presence on Regent Street, The Cafe at Hotel Cafe Royal is a beautiful, calming space to enjoy tea and pastries. With ..
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At the London flagship store of publishing magnate Prosper Assouline you can buy beautiful vintage Assouline books - and there are over 1,200 fashion, art, design and architecture to choose from - luxury leather book bags, prints and gifts, including photo frames, paperweights and stationery. Browse the books and then enjoy drink at the sophisticated Swan Bar, serving dishes from breakfast time to early dinner. Choices include foie gras and Spanish ham, coffee, tea and Champagne. Housed in a handsome 1922 Edward Lutyens-designed building on Piccadilly the room has been decorated to look " like the sort of library you might want in your own home" (Financial Times).

At the London flagship store of publishing magnate Prosper Assouline you can buy beautiful vintage Assouline books - and there are over 1,200 fashion, art, design and architecture to choose from - luxury leather book bags..
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Enjoy 2 courses for Â£25 or 3 courses for Â£29 & add bottomless bubbles for Â£20 per person for the duration of your meal. Our Q Lunch is completed by live performance at the Grand Stage on Sundays.

A Night of Whitney Houston Menu £45
- from Thu 19:00-23:00

Phebe Edwards will take to the stage at 9pm, join us and celebrate the legend that was Whitney Houston for a night to remember! Make a night of it with our dining package and enjoy the performance alongside three courses and a glass of Champagne for Â£45. This menu will be served exclusively on the night.

Quaglino's was the place to see and be seen in the mid-1990s, bringing in swarms of celebrities for late night dining, champagne breakfasts and arguments with Toby Young. Refreshed and re-opened following a full-scale, multi-million pound renovation in 2014, the restaurant has a contemporary European menu from executive chef Mickael Weiss and a programme of events and late-night live music. Russell Sage Studio has redesigned the Art deco interior restoring the sweeping staircase, balcony bar, main restaurant and mezzanine private dining rooms and adding a glamorous central cocktail bar as well as a stage. The 240-cover restaurant features a contemporary European menu of Cheltenham beetroot with goat's curd, winter leaves, walnuts and dried apricots, Seared hand-dived Kings scallop in the shell with tomato, samphire and Ligurian olive oil and Lobster raviolo, spinach, golden raisins, espelette chilli and lobster emulsion. Dishes to share include spiced Romney Marsh lamb shoulder, young spinach, apricot, almond, parsley and goat's curd. Quaglino's, always a place to see and be seen, continues to uphold its place as a London hotspot, opening its doors until 3am on Friday and Saturday nights, letting the party go on into the early hours.

Since Wilton's was established in 1742, it has consistently enjoyed a reputation as the epitome of fine English dining. The atmosphere is equal to the immaculately prepared wild fish, shellfish and meat dishes sourced from the finest farms. Wilton's retains many intriguing decorative features from its early years and guests will find that the restaurant's gentle evolution has in no way compromised the sense of exclusivity and calm. For many years Wilton's Oyster Bar has been known for being a favourite haunt of St. James's locals and business people alike and is known as the one of the best places in London to enjoy the finest oysters, game and seafood. Booking advised. Separate room for parties. Dress jacket and tie essential.

This long-standing Italian restaurant aims to please whatever the time of day. They open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even afternoon tea. Originally an Italian restaurant this eatery has drawn on other influences over the last 60 years and now mixes Sardinian, Sicilian and British influences to its more traditional Italian menu. The green awnings of Franco's can be seen from St James's Street, sheltering the Parisian style cafe tables that line the street. Inside the restaurant the decor is classic and elegant with a more relaxed bar area situated to one side. The day begins at Franco's with a laid back European breakfast. Cappuccinos, pastries and newspapers to ease you into the day. Lunch is a busier affair with daily specials and set menus serving salads, grills and homemade pasta dishes. At 2.30pm they put on an afternoon tea, complete with scones and finger sandwiches. Finally the evening entices early theatre-goers with their special set menu offering three courses for £20. The service is both formal and friendly and the prices are fairly reasonable for the area, it is quite easy to see why this old school style of dining has succeeded for so long.

This long-standing Italian restaurant aims to please whatever the time of day. They open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even af..
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The Fountain Restaurant provides a deluxe brasserie atmosphere ideal for breakfast, lunch, dinner or Sunday Jazz Brunch with a menu featuring established favourites, including Fortnum's Welsh Rarebit. The menu includes a selection of seasonal starters, salads, fish dishes and meats from the grill.On Valentine's Day, the Fountain Restaurant is putting on a special five-course Valentines menu. Starting with a refreshing Heritage tomato salad, it also includes lobster and artichoke ragout, whole sea bass, baked Alaska for two, coffee and chocolate bonbons, and a glass of Fortnums Rose Champagne. £55 per person.

Located in a 1913 Edwardian baroque building on Waterloo Place in St. James's, just off Pall Mall and close to Piccadilly Circus, Villandry St James's is a French and Mediterranean cafe and restaurant with an all day menu, a great spot to enjoy breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, a pre-theatre or a romantic dinner. At weekends there is a brunch menu and in addition to the 170 seats, half in a formal dining area and half in a more informal cafe format, they also have two private dining rooms able to accommodate 30 covers and 12 covers on the mezzanine level. This sister restaurant is run by the same group as the original Villandry in Great Portland Street.

Located in a 1913 Edwardian baroque building on Waterloo Place in St. James's, just off Pall Mall and close to Piccadilly Circus, Villandry St James's is a French and Mediterranean cafe and restaurant with an all day menu, a grea..
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